Nina Martin
Saxophone | 2026 Isserlis Scholarship
A note from Nina
I will be studying at the Grieg Academy in Norway in the Autumn of 2026, as part of an exchange programme in the final year of my undergraduate studies. While I'm there, I will be composing and performing an original piece for soprano saxophone and electronics, based on the seven mountains surrounding Bergen from the perspective of climate change, working with the University of Bergen’s department of sustainability. I'll also be having lessons with Grieg Academy professors, expanding my confidence in experimental performance and developing my technique as a saxophonist. Tying this all together, I'll be working on my own research project on the impact of music activism on society, as well as immersing myself in Norway’s culture and inspiring landscape.
It is an honour to have the support of an organisation as prestigious as the RPS, and I am grateful to be able to represent the RPS as I study in Norway.
Biography
Nina Martin is an award-winning saxophonist and composer – winner of the Howarth of London Single Reed Prize 2025, and the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain Young Composer’s Competition 2024/25. She has also been awarded the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) Wind Plus Chamber Prize and Peter Redfearn Prize for Composition, among others.
At the age of 14, her first composition for string quartet was performed at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. Her music has been premiered by the Equilibrium Quartet, Sinfonia Cymru, Bute Voices, Nova Quartet, Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Session Orchestra, RWCMD Saxophone Choir and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) Saxophone Choir. She has performed in collaboration with students from the Royal Northern Ballet School, and was commissioned to create music for the Bute Park Christmas Light Show installation Mycelium Network.
She has previously studied at the RNCM and is currently studying at the RWCMD where she was elected as Vice President for Music on the Students Union team. As part of this role she has organised a series of events to celebrate World Environment Day 2026, including an art exhibition and concert. Her work focuses on performing original music that tells stories of climate change and the loss of biodiversity.